VA Hospital Marks Groundbreaking in Lower Mid-City

New Orleans, La. – Governor Bobby Jindal says the project will improve the health of its citizens, and the economy of southeast Louisiana.

"Together with the research hospital - the university hospital - that will be built next door, over $2.4 billion will be spent here creating the nation's most modern, up-to-date medical facilities in the entire country. That's important for our veterans. That's important for everybody in this region that needs access to high-quality health care, but it's also a great economic driver for our region."

But that state hospital project has been opposed by residents who face relocation from their lower Mid-City homes, historic preservationists and groups that favor reopening Christy Hospital, which as been closed since just days after Hurricane Katrina.New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, who supports the new LSU hospital, says an arrangement has been reached to fund moving historic structures to other parts of the city.For WWNO, I'm Eileen Fleming